Imagined Life is a podcast produced by Wondery and hosted by Virginia Madsen and Robbie Daymond.[1] The podcast presents biographies of famous people in an unusual format. The first episode premiered on November 4, 2018 and 48 episodes have been produced by the end of the third season.[2] Imagined Life won the 2018 podcast award by online publication Quartz in the categories "Best podcast on the human condition" and "Best new podcast".[3] The podcast will be developed into a TV documentary series by Universal Content Productions.[4]
| Imagined Life | |
|---|---|
 Podcast art for Imagined Life | |
| Presentation | |
| Hosted by | Virginia Madsen, Robbie Daymond |
| Genre | Biography |
| Format | Second-person narrative |
| Language | English |
| Length | 40–50 Minutes |
| Production | |
| No. of seasons | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 48 |
| Publication | |
| Original release | November 4, 2018 – present |
| Provider | Wondery |
| Related | |
| Website | Imagined Life – Wondery |
Format
editEach episode tells the life-story of one famous person. The subjects often include entertainers, political leaders, businessmen or sportsmen. An episode begins with a dramatic unresolved moment in the person's life, before going through the biography of the person in chronological order. The life events are presented in a dramatized way with reenactments of conversations.[5]
The defining feature of "Imagined Life" is its second-person narration. Listeners are invited to imagine themselves being the famous person, although the person's identity is not revealed until the end.[6] Identifying characteristics, such as gender, profession or country of origin, are intentionally omitted in the beginning and only gradually revealed among with other "clues" as the episode progresses. The creators describe this format as "second person biographical guessing game".[7] Each episode ends with a reveal of the subject and recommended further reading.
The podcast also produces shorter episodes labeled as "Imagined Life Family" that cater to younger listeners, or for families to listen to together.
Episodes
edit| # | Title[2] | Date | Subject | Recommended reading |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Outsider | November 4, 2018 |
Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future | |
| 2 | The Daydreamer | November 4, 2018 | None | |
| 3 | The Performer | November 11, 2018 | None | |
| 4 | The Bride | November 18, 2018 | None | |
| 5 | The Warrior | November 25, 2018 |
| |
| 6 | The Trailbrazer | December 2, 2018 | None | |
| 7 | The Advocate | December 9, 2018 |
Podcast "Ellen on the go" | |
| 8 | The Chameleon | December 16, 2018 |
| |
| 9 | The Perfectionist | December 23, 2018 | None | |
| 10 | The Officer | January 13, 2019 |
| |
| 11 | The Commoner | January 27, 2019 | None | |
| 12 | The Winner | February 3, 2019 | None | |
| 13 | The Everyman | February 17, 2019 |
| |
| 14 | The Achiever | February 24, 2019 | None | |
| 15 | The Student | March 10, 2019 | None | |
| 16 | The Grown-Up | March 17, 2019 |
| |
| 17 | The Misfit | March 31, 2019 | None | |
| 18 | The Entertainer | February 24, 2019 | None | |
| 19 | The Traveller | April 14, 2019 | None | |
| 20 | The Firecracker | April 21, 2019 |
| |
| 21 | The Lover | September 6, 2019 |
Death in a Prairie House: Frank Lloyd Wright and the Taliesin Murders | |
| 22 | The Ballerina | September 13, 2019 | None | |
| 23 | The Captive | September 20, 2019 | None | |
| 24 | The Passenger | September 27, 2019 | None | |
| 25 | The Troublemaker | October 4, 2019 |
Here Comes Trouble: Stories from My Life | |
| 26 | The Reject | October 11, 2019 | None | |
| 27 | The Model | October 18, 2019 | None | |
| 28 | The Eccentric | October 25, 2019 |
Mockingbird: A Portrait of Harper Lee | |
| 29 | The Loudmouth | November 1, 2019 |
I'm the One That I Want | |
| 30 | The Patron | November 8, 2019 | None | |
| 31 | The Searcher | November 15, 2019 | None | |
| 32 | The Wannabe | November 22, 2019 | ||
| 33 | The Handler | November 29, 2019 |
| |
| 34 | The Hothead | December 6, 2019 |
| |
| 35 | The Pioneer | December 13, 2019 | None | |
| 36 | The Widow | December 20, 2019 | None | |
| 37 | The Workhorse | April 3, 2020 | None | |
| 38 | The Survivor | April 10, 2020 |
| |
| 39 | The Idealist | April 17, 2020 |
Permanent Record | |
| 40 | The Exile | April 24, 2020 |
Princess Noire: The Tumultuous Reign of Nina Simone | |
| 41 | The Wanderer | May 1, 2020 |
The Big Sea | |
| 42 | The Fugitive | May 8, 2020 |
Marilyn in Manhattan: Her Year of Joy | |
| 43 | The Caretaker | May 22, 2020 |
"Personal History" by Katharine Graham | |
| 44 | The Dreamer | May 29, 2020 | None | |
| 45 | The Orphan | June 5, 2020 | None | |
| 46 | The Secret Agent | June 12, 2020 |
Roald Dahl: A Biography | |
| 47 | The Striver | June 19, 2020 | None | |
| 48 | The Soloist | June 26, 2020 |
|
References
edit- ^ "Imagined Life". Wondery. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
- ^ a b "Imagined Life". ART19. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
- ^ Wolfson, Elijah (23 December 2018). "The best podcasts (and podcast episodes) of 2018". Quartz. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
- ^ Porter, Rick (2020-09-02). "Seth MacFarlane, Jim Henson Company Land Unscripted Projects at UCP". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2021-05-08.
- ^ Jackman, Robert (2 July 2020). "Why haven't podcasts cracked the recipe for audio drama?". Spectator. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
- ^ Soltes, John (2018-12-12). "INTERVIEW: New Wondery podcast keeps audience guessing until the end". Hollywood Soapbox. Retrieved 2021-05-08.
- ^ Chhetri, Priyam. "'Imagined Life' is changing podcasts as we know it, Wondery's chief content officer Marshall Lewy explains how". MEA WorldWide. Retrieved 16 August 2020.